Harrower

Using a special deck of cards known as a Harrow deck, one can perform a harrowing by laying the cards out in a three-by-three grid that reveals secrets of the target’s past, present, and future. Whether or not the revelations and divinations of a typical harrowing are trustworthy, none can deny that the strange powers wielded by the harrower are real. The harrower uses the ancient art of fortune-telling to harness destiny and thus augment her spellcasting abilities, infusing them with power by drawing cards from her Harrow deck and letting fate decide what elements of her magic need augmentation.

Several of the harrower’s powers require the drawing of cards from a Harrow deck. You can use an actual Harrow deck for this act (Harrow decks are available at paizo.com or at many gaming stores), but you can also simulate a draw from such a deck of cards. For most of the harrower’s class features, you need only roll 1d6 to determine the suit of each card drawn for a Harrow casting. Only the blessing of the Harrow and spirit deck class features pay attention to a card’s alignment.

Class Details

Hit Die: d6.

Requirements

To qualify to become a harrower, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.

Class Features

The following are class features of the harrower.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A harrower gains no additional weapon or armor proficiencies.

Spells

When a harrower gains a level, she gains new spells per day as if she had also gained a level in a spellcasting class she belonged to before she added the prestige class. She does not, however, gain any other benefits a character of that class would have gained. This essentially means that she adds the level of harrower to the level of whatever other spellcasting class she has. If the character had more than one spellcasting class before she became a harrower, she must choose which class she adds each harrower level to for the purposes of determining spells per day.

A harrower adds the harrowing spell to all of her spell lists as a 3rd-level spell if it is not already on a spell list.

Blessing of the Harrow (Su)

Once per day, a harrower may perform a harrowing for herself and all allies within 20 feet of her. This harrowing takes 10 minutes, and allies to be affected by it must remain within 20 feet of the harrower for the entire time. At the conclusion of the harrowing, count up the number of cards from each suit that were used in the reading. This harrowing provides a bonus based upon the suit with the most cards showing. In case of a tie, choose one suit. The bonus lasts for 24 hours. The suits grant insight bonuses as follows. Strength: +1 on attack rolls; Dexterity: +1 to AC; Constitution: +1 on weapon damage rolls; Intelligence: +1 on all skill checks; Wisdom: +1 on all saving throws; Charisma: +1 on caster level and concentration checks.

Harrow Casting (Su)

Beginning at 2nd level, a harrower may, as she casts a spell, draw three cards from her Harrow deck. This adds both a somatic component (if the spell does not already have one) and a focus component (the Harrow deck) to the spell, but does not increase the spell’s casting time. Depending on the harrower’s level, the cards she draws might change the parameters of her spell or grant her some other benefit, as described in each tower ability. The harrower gains all of the different tower abilities available to her. If she draws cards that she has not yet gained the use of, those cards provide no benefit. Each card the harrower draws that exactly matches her alignment counts as two cards of that suit. A spell may not be affected by both Harrow casting and a metamagic feat. The harrower may use this ability a number of times per day equal to her class level.

Tower of Intelligence (Su)

Beginning at 2nd level, whenever a harrower uses her Harrow casting ability, for each card she draws from the suit of Intelligence, she gains a +1 bonus on caster level checks made to penetrate spell resistance.

Tower of Strength (Su)

Beginning at 3rd level, whenever a harrower uses her Harrow casting ability to augment a spell that deals damage to hit points, the spell deals +1 point of damage per die for each card from the suit of Strength she draws.

Tower of Charisma (Su)

Beginning at 4th level, whenever a harrower uses her Harrow casting ability, for each card she draws from the suit of Charisma, the save DC of the spell increases by +1.

Spirit Deck (Su)

A 5th-level harrower may, as a standard action, summon a shimmering, translucent Harrow deck made of force that flies through the air and engulfs a target within 30 feet in a whirling cloud of knife-edged cards. The harrower then draws a number of Harrow cards equal to her harrower level from her personal Harrow deck, and the spirit deck deals damage based on the number of drawn cards that match her alignment, as shown on the chart to the right. Each exact match deals 5 points of damage, each partial match deals 3 points, each non-matched card deals 1 point, and each opposite match deals 0 points. The harrower may use this ability a number of times per day equal to 1 + her Charisma modifier (minimum 1/day).

Divination (Sp)

A 6th-level harrower gains the ability to cast divination once per day as a spell-like ability. Her caster level equals her character level.

Tower of Constitution (Ex)

Beginning at 7th level, whenever a harrower uses her Harrow casting ability, for each card she draws from the suit of Constitution, she heals 1d6 points of damage.

Tower of Dexterity (Su)

At 8th level, whenever a harrower uses her Harrow casting ability, for each card she draws from the suit of Dexterity, she gains a +1 bonus on Reflex saves and to AC until the beginning of her next turn.

Tower of Wisdom (Su)

At 9th level, whenever a harrower uses her Harrow casting ability, for each card she draws from the suit of Wisdom, she increases the spell’s effective caster level by +1.

Reading the Signs (Ex)

When a 10th-level harrower draws cards from any deck of cards in order to either activate a class ability (such as Harrow casting) or to activate a magic item function, she may draw an extra card and choose one to ignore and shuffle back into the deck. The harrower may not use this ability when performing a harrowing, but may use it when performing her Harrow casting or spirit deck abilities. She can also use this ability when drawing cards from magical decks, such as a deck of many things. She may use this ability at will, but must wait 1d4 rounds between each use.

Fortune-telling

Fortune-telling conjures images of hazy tents, mysterious women shrouded in shawls, and portents wafting through the air like incense.

So how do you, in your modern game room that is probably noticeably lacking in crystal balls and mysterious tents, use the illusion of fortune-telling to give your players the same excited trepidation, as well as both hope and fear for their characters’ destinies? No matter how the fortune-telling enters your campaign, you as the Gamemaster have options. You can choose to roll some dice behind a screen and simply tell your players the result—or you can choose to use the moment to create dramatic tension and the feeling that the players’ characters are integral to the fortune-telling. While the second option is likely a lot more fun for all involved, it does require some work on your part.

Basic Fortune-Telling Methods

Many fortune-telling methods exist, and each has its pros and cons in terms of use in a roleplaying game. What follow are some of the more easily integrated fortunetelling methods and their strengths and weaknesses for a Gamemaster.

Cold Readings: A cold reading is when you decide to plunge into a fortune-telling situation without much—if any—preparation. This might occur because the players suddenly seek out a fortune-teller or because it suddenly seems right in your campaign.

For a cold reading, you can either revert to reading the palms of your players’ characters, throwing stones, using cards or dice, or other mystical-feeling methods. The critical thing with a cold reading is not to commit too anything too concrete or detailed in the fortuneteller’s answers. You haven’t prepared and committing to a possible game changer or other critical game element on the fly can come back to haunt you.

With such readings, attempt to give vague answers or ones filled with symbolism that the players can interpret (“I see a red hawk at your shoulder. Its left foot is crippled, a black ribbon tangled in its claws.”). While such prophecies might have little meaning initially, you can work manifestations of such revelations into future adventures—or not, depending on the legitimacy of your fortune-telling NPC.

True Randomness: With this method of fortunetelling you let the sticks, dice, cards, or stones fall as they may. Then it is up to you to interpret the results in a way that is useful and potentially meaningful for your players. This method works best if you write down a few possible results for each player. You can do this by listing several positive and negative results (say, having the upper numbers on dice tell something positive and the lower numbers mean a negative future). Doing so allows you to create a few vague and optional fates that work with your campaign and your characters’ abilities, but still afford the excitement of leaving the results up to chance.

False Randomness: Many fortune-telling methods can be made to look random while allowing you to remain in total control of the outcome. This is easiest to do with a prop like a spirit board, but can also be done easily with cards. The advantage to false randomness is that it allows you to give players specific information you want to impart about their futures. By spelling out words on a spirit board or stacking a deck so certain cards are revealed, you can impart meanings specific to the needs of your game. The disadvantage of this technique is that, if you mess up, players know you rigged the results and don’t feel as excited or as invested in the results as they might otherwise.

Fortune-Telling Props

It is usually helpful to use props in the course of a fortune-telling. You can simply use a player’s palm as a prop, but players tend to get more excited when they feel that an element of randomness and fate are involved, which rolling dice or drawing cards provide. Of course, you also have to be prepared to deal with that randomness and come up with appropriate responses for the answers, which often require some preparation or research. Certain tools, like tarot cards, imply particular interpretations, and familiarizing yourself with these can help guide your fortune-telling by suggesting results.

There are far more fortune-telling methods in the world than can be addressed here, but the following often prove easiest to integrate into a fantasy roleplaying campaign. If you’re interested, the library and Internet have a wealth of information on other fortune-telling methods such as the I-Ching, pendulum reading, horacy, crystalmancy, chiromancy, and countless others.

Cards: These can be used either as single cards drawn from a deck or in more complicated fortune-telling spreads. You should have an idea of what each card means in fortune-telling or in your world before doing such a reading, as being able to interpret each card off the top of your head or with only a quick reference of your notes goes a long way to increasing the verisimilitude of the experience. The Harrow Deck offers cards designed specifically for use in the Pathfinder RPG, dealing with RPG-related themes, and can be useful in shortening your research time to convert real-world answers to your fantasy world.

Dice, Sticks, or Stones: Dice are something every Gamemaster has readily available. Many also have shiny stones of different colors and types. The GM reveals fortunes using thse props by interpreting either marks on their surfaces or how they fall in relation to one another. While such items typically prove vague enough that only the “fortune-teller” can decipher them, they offer little in the way of thematic suggestions, and thus prove difficult to ad-lib with unless the GM already has an idea of how he wants the prophecy to play out. They do, however, lend an air of action, mysticism, and randomness that simple palm reading or staring into a crystal ball does not.

Crystal Ball, Fire, Foci: When using a crystal ball, fire, or any other prop that offers no visible result, you need to use a more theatrical style. These readings tend to be more scripted (see Fortune-Telling as Theater), although you can still add player interaction into such encounters by asking the players questions, such as “What animal comes to mind as you stare into the fire?” You must then be ready to assign a meaning to the animal or whatever other factors you decide have relevance.

Fortune-Telling as Theater

With a bit of preparation, you can give a truly theatrical fortune-telling session using palm reading, a crystal ball, or any other interpretive method where you, as the fortune-teller, are telling the players what you “see” in their future. First off, try to set the mood. Dimming the lights and insisting that everyone stay in character can go far toward eliminating disruptions.

In addition, make sure you have a good message in mind, one using metaphor and/or allegory liberally. Sometimes it helps to actually write a brief script for yourself ahead of time. For example, let’s say the message is that the characters will wind up trapped in a magical labyrinth, and the only way out is to find the labyrinth’s guardian who has a golden key. Instead of saying this straight out in a reading, you might instead phrase it more mysteriously, such as, “I see you lost, trapped in an endless series of choices… Do not allow yourself to spiral out of control or all is lost. Darkness… confusion… grief and terror. All this I see, but there is a glimpse of golden hope, a spider spinning a golden web of safety. Find her or find oblivion.”

The technique here is to not simply spoon feed your players the information they need. You want to give them clues they must unravel as they adventure forward. Also, be sure that whatever scenario your fortune-teller is describing is one you’re pretty sure the players will soon face. You can, of course, combine this theatrical reading style with one of the more random fortune-telling elements. The combination can be particularly powerful. And always remember that, even in the most directed of readings, you want to integrate the players into the process. This will provide them with the most powerful and enjoyable experience, and will also give them things to look forward to—or dread—in the coming adventure. That kind of emotional engagement and suspense can turn a run-of-the-mill adventure into a truly magical experience.

Mundane and Magical Fortune-Telling

One of the first things PCs are likely to wonder before or after having their fates revealed is whether or not their fortune-teller’s words are true. Some fortune-tellers are complete con artists, devoid of any kind of mystical power, using the same techniques as real-world mystics. If a fortune teller is scamming the PCs, you should roll a Bluff check to determine the effectiveness of her performance. Don’t call for a Sense Motive check from the characters unless they raise the question of their seer’s legitimacy. Part of the effectiveness of fortune-telling is the recipient’s belief in the medium’s miraculous insights. Only once a character doubts these powers does the illusion risk breaking down.

The Pathfinder RPG also presents many magical options for fortune-telling. The spells augury, contact other plane, and vision, along with a host of other divination spells, all prove useful in giving characters insights into the future, where classic magic items like crystal balls and medallions of thoughts allow seers to demonstrate their uncanny insights. A variety of illusion-based spells and magic items, such as a wand ofmajor image or a deck of illusions, help bring flair to a fortune-teller’s readings, regardless of actual truthfulness. The harrower prestige class employs the aforementioned Harrow Deck and allows characters to play a kind of adventuring fortune-teller.